Where are you right now and what have you been up to over the last 7 days?I am at home now. The past 7 days I have been making music, DJ-ing and playing some serious PS3!

Is there anything you know now as a music industry professional that you wish you knew back at the start? Not really. I know a lot more about about the music industry then I did in the beginning, but that wouldn't have changed any of my choices. I never adapted in any way to the industry and its sometimes dirty ways.

Last year you smashed into the DJ Mag Top 100 Poll powered by Trackitdown.net much to the surprise of the wider music scene. How did that feel and what does such achievement mean for hardcore!? It feels great! It finally put hardcore in a global spotlight, and I'm very proud of that. Our style has been ignored (or at least tried to) for many years, but this simply means people can't deny it anymore. And that's just awesome

Apart from a rare appearance like this, the modern hardcore scene stays very underground. Can you give us all a snapshot of the health of the scene here in 2012 and what parts of the world have the hotspots? I think the current hardcore scene is as solid as a rock. We play all over the world, and see a growing fan base everywhere. Of course there are countries where the scene is still small and really underground, but it's merely a goal to make it bigger. Hotspots…hard to say. Every country have their pros and cons, but mostly just pros!

Your first production signings happened when you were only 16 years old courtesy of the legendary Buzz Fuzz. That must have been a pretty crazy time for someone so young. What can you tell us about those days? I started making music when I was 16. Back then I only used pre-programmed loops and was just exploring. Later I made the switch to plugins and samples, and was able to REALLY make music.

When I made some tracks that were good enough in my opinion I sent them to Buzz Fuzz. After a while he sent me an email saying that he really liked them, and wanted me to do a release on his label. I was excited to say the least! He also got me in touch with Masters Of Hardcore, where I released my first Angerfist EP on their sublabel Overload. That's where it all started, about 10 years ago.

Fast forward to 2012 and you’re the most talked about hardcore artist on Facebook. How important a platform is this for you as an artist and how do you use it to interact with fans? From the analytics do you find fans from parts of the world you never expected? The Angerfist Facebook page has so grown so fast since I created it, it's crazy. I really like this social media. To connect to people, and see how they react to the things you do. It's really cool. When I look at the stats I can see fans from parts of the world where I would never have expected them. To see that people in the Middle-East, for example, are checking and posting on your page is honestly surprising!

We guess the phone is ringing red hot now for invitations to tour. What highlights do you have in the diary and what can fans expect from your show in 2012? There are a lot of cool shows coming up. Of course we will do the "Retaliate World Tour" this year, another USA tour somewhere around the summer and lots of international festivals. By the looks of it now, this will be our biggest year ever. We will also add some new countries to our resumé.

Back to the studio, are you working on a follow up to your latest album Retaliate which came out last year? How do you find your influences when it comes to starting a big project like an artist album? I listen to all kinds of music. There is so much good music out there, and every genre has it's shine. Anything can be inspirational. Currently I'm working on some projects, but not another follow up album yet. I recently did a new collab with Tieum, which is sounding great. I'm also working on a remix for one of my favorite Nitrogenetics tracks.

We can imagine that you listen to a lot of heavy music outside of the EDM sphere? Anyone you can recommend to us right now? It's still electronic, but if you want heavy I suggest the "Venetian Snares - Doll Doll Doll" album. That record still amazes me every time I listen to it. I think it's safe to say that is the darkest and most vicious album I ever heard. Priceless.

Finally, what’s the secret behind those killer kick drums!? We’ve tried but just can’t get that Angerfist punch! It's not that hard honestly. Before I make a kickdrum, I set up a microphone in my room. I get drunk, put on my pink bunny suit and start hitting the walls with an old frying pan. When after a few hours I'm finished I take the recorded audio to my studio and start editing. That's it! Anyone can do it

He also did some short reviews of tracks, mostly his own but also some stuff from other genres:

Angerfist - IncomingOne of my personal favs from my 2011 discography, and proud #1 in the Hardcore Top 100. Also cool that the crowd always screams the vocals when I take the fader down.

Happy about this one!

Angerfist - RetaliateThe title track of my latest album, and with it's high BPM and aggressive vibes it's a must in the last 15 minutes of my sets!

Retaliate and devastate!!

Angerfist - BloodrushA strict and unforgiving bassline and powerful vocals that make this mean track another one of my favorites of the album. Also really cool to work with upcoming hardcore queen Lady Kate.

When I was playing around with a dramatic melody, she strongly disagreed, put in the evil distorted sounds which set the atmosphere to turn this into a "track from hell".

Angerfist - Perfect FuryI was thinking of using these vocals for a long time, and then I finally did. Also the melody was one that I created over 2 years ago.

I put both together, and it just worked! This is also the reason I made this the first track on the "Retaliate" album. Love it.

Noisia - Tommy's ThemeThis track amazes me every time I hear it! So much sadness… it's really something special. I heard it for the first not so long ago, when we were driving to a gig and a friend of mine handed me the CD.

I put it in the player, set the volume to max and was honestly shocked. Most impressive dubstep track I've ever heard.

Benny Benassi feat. Gary Go - Cinema (Skrillex Remix)On last year's USA tour I was introduced to the music of Skrillex for the first time. It sounded totally new and futuristic to me. I liked it, and when I came back home I immediately started looking for more of his music.

When I came across this remix for Benni Benassi, I really liked the big contrast between the friendly poppy vibes and the brutal bassline violence after that. I've also played it several times as an intro for my sets. Drrrrop the bass!

Bong Ra & The DJ Producer - Bloodclot TechnoI came across this track when I was making this selection! So I'd never heard it before today I just love the snares and kicks hitting you like an axe to the face.

Some serious beats right here. Thumbs up!

Crypsis and Luna - TortureUsually I'm not a big hardstyle fan, but this track just hits a nerve! The screaming vocal combined with an unusual kickdrum just sounds perfect. Hardstyle at it's best.

Venetian Snares + Speedranch - Viva Las VegasOne of the first tracks I heard from this breakcore legend, and a supernasty one! The "Making Orange Things EP" is pretty noisy, and the Speedranch vocals give this EP a very different vibe than the usual Venetian Snares stuff that came out back then.

Too bad you dont have the "Doll Doll Doll" album here, because otherwise I would've chosen "Befriend A Childkiller" hehee

Angerfist - Fuck The Promqueen (Remastered 2011 Edit)The only "real" terror track that I ever made, and I'm still very happy about it. When it first came out in 2005 I was surprised how the crowd responded to it. Moshpits and angry faces!

I wanted to give it new life, remastered it and put this version on my new album. I still play it at the end of my sets. Losers always whine about their best, winners go home and fuck the prom queen.